Normalised Approach to Supporting Intellectually Disabled Offenders (From Intellectually Disabled Offenders, P 101-108, 1987, Dennis Challinger, ed. -- See NCJ-109708)

• NCJ Number: 109717
• Author(s): P Gannon
• Date Published: 1987
• Length: 8 pages
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology; National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Description
• Language: English
• Country: Australia
• Note: For microfiche, see NCJ-109708.

Annotation

This paper describes how Queensland's (Australia) Intellectually Handicapped Citizens Act can provide direct support for intellectually disabled (ID) persons facing the criminal justice system.

Abstract

Currently the criminal justice system provides little effective assistance to ID persons to compensate for their communication and conceptual deficits. The Intellectually Handicapped Citizens Act provides for a 'legal friend' and a 'volunteer friend' to assist ID persons encountering the criminal justice system. Both the legal friend and the volunteer friend are public servants under the direct control of the Intellectually Handicapped Citizens Council. The council consists of five members of the community appointed by the governor in council for a 3-year term. The legal friend, who may be a solicitor or a barrister, provides free legal advice to ID persons based on the legal friend's knowledge of the limitations and capabilities of the ID person and the workings of the criminal justice system. Volunteer friends are persons whom the counsel selects, trains, and matches to ID persons to assist them in dealing with various problems, including criminal justice system encounters. These volunteer friends have intimate knowledge of their ID friend's limitations and capabilities, so they provide valuable input to criminal justice decisionmakers regarding the handling of the ID defendant and offender. 2 figures.